Interactions of pristine and aged nanoplastics with heavy metals: Enhanced adsorption and transport in saturated porous media.

Interactions of nanoplastics (NPs) with other contaminants are attracting attention, and it is essential to investigate the interaction of aged plastics with heavy metals. We obtained aged nanopolystyrene by UV radiation and investigated the effects of aged NPs on the adsorption and cotransport of Pb-(II) and Cd-(II). The results showed that the UV-aged NPs led to the enhanced adsorption capacity of heavy metals due to the increase in oxygen-containing functional groups, and the promotion of transport by the aged NPs to heavy metals was stronger than that of the pristine NPs.

Surfactant-induced adsorption of Pb(II) on the cracked structure of microplastics.

Surfactant molecules can change the hydrophobic nature of microplastic surfaces, thereby affecting the adsorption of heavy metals in the environment onto the microplastics. It is essential to explore the role of crack structure of microplastics in the adsorption of heavy metals, especially in the presence of surfactants. In this study, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were evaluated for Pb(II) adsorption and desorption mechanism in the presence of two surfactants: cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS).